San Mao and the Olive Tree

1970's. Famous Chinese writer San Mao lived a singular love story with Spanish free diver José María Quero. They travelled to the Spanish colony of Western Sahara, where San Mao chronicled her day-to-day experiences in the desert. Her book “Stories from the Sahara” became a best seller in Taiwan and in China, but her romance with José María was suddenly disrupted when he lost his life in a diving accident. Adding to this tragedy, some years later San Mao took her own life in Taiwan, having reached the pinnacle of her fame as a writer but unable to cope with the loss of her lover. Though San Mao is one of the most popular and widely read literary figures in the Chinese-speaking world, she remains virtually unknown in the West.